Inky blackness.

That’s all Giselle and NingNing could see.

“Wait hold on, I have a flashlight.”

“You do?”

NingNing shrugged, “I keep a small one on me just in case.”

The younger girl rummaged through her bag, a beam of light showing as she stood up.

“Here, I have two actually.”

NingNing handed another flashlight to Giselle, the older girl thanking her as she turned the light on.

“Let’s g-”

“WINTER!”

The two froze, their heads snapping to the hallway.

“T-that was… Karina…”

At the sound of her best friend’s name, Giselle grabbed NingNing’s hand and sprinted to the room the other two were supposed to be in, pleading to whoever was listening to let her closest friend be okay.

The older of the two ed the door open, the small beams of light illuminating the room to show a blonde girl sitting on top of an raven-haired girl, the smaller girl’s eyes seeming to be closed.

Giselle and NingNing ran up to the two, “what happened?”

Karina shook her head at the floor, her widened eyes filled with fear, desperation slowly kicking in.

Giselle held Karina’s head steady to meet eyes, “Karina, what happened to Winter.”

“I-I- S-she s-saved me f-from… it.”

The Japanese girl’s eyes widened from her reply, and she slowly backed away, slumping into another chair in the room as she held with one hand.

NingNing gently held Karina’s shoulder, “a-are you okay though? Unnie?”

“Y-yeah… I-I think so…”

Giselle said nothing, her eyes unable to leave the girl’s body that Karina held in her arms.

Of course she cared for both of their well-beings. She was glad to see that Karina wasn’t hurt…

But all she could think about right now was Winter, her friend since they were little kids. 

Winter, the only person who cared to show her around Korea when Giselle first moved here, almost five years ago. 

Winter, who was such a loving and soft girl who hated when Giselle used to come over uninvited with bruises all over from getting into a fight with some stupid kid, nagging at her as she tended to the Japanese girl's wounds. 

Winter, who was there for Giselle like an inseparable sister when her parents weren’t there for her.

Winter, the one who made Giselle into the person she was now…

Winter…

Her best friend…

She couldn’t help but tear up, weakening herself for the first time around anyone besides the younger girl.

“M-Minjeong…”

The only thing she promised the girl was that she’d protect her.

But she failed.

Karina looked away, unable to watch as one of her strongest friends struggled not to break, knowing that this wouldn’t have happened if they were more careful, if they didn’t even try to attempt something like this at all.

NingNing gazed at the floor, her hand still on Karina’s shoulder, staying in her spot since she knew Giselle, and she knew that the girl needed her space right now.

…

…

...

...

...

...

A finger twitched, twitching again after a few moments, a pair of eyes weakly fluttering open.

The eyes slowly blinked, glancing all over the place as the owner tried to recognize their surroundings, what happened, where they were, who they were on top of.

Then she remembered.

“K-Ka...rina…”

All three conscious girls glanced at the unmoving girl, their eyes widened with shock.

Karina hesitantly rested a hand on Winter’s head, “Minjeong-ah… Are you there?”

The blonde girl raised her arms up to Karina’s shoulders, pushing herself away with much effort.

She then groaned, her head falling back onto the older girl’s collar.

“... Why is your collarbone so hard…”

Karina’s heart sped up in relief, “W-Winter oh my God, you’re okay.”

“My head hurts from hitting something… boney…”

The older girl could care less that her friend was making fun of her, and she wrapped her arms around the girl, nuzzling her head onto Winter’s.

With much of her strength, Winter hugged Karina’s neck, slowly patting the older girl’s head.

She felt another hand on her head and she smiled, smelling NingNing’s perfume mix in with Karina’s.

“You didn’t think I’d… go that easily… did you, jagiya?”

After gathering all of her remaining strength, she successfully pushed herself up, rubbing her forehead as she glanced at Karina.

“But seriously, why are your bones so hard?”

“Uh- thank you?”

“And I never knew you were so comfortable to sit on.”

Karina flustered up, “Winter are you okay?”

“I’m really tired…”

Winter pulled fully away from Karina, staggering for balance as she stood up. The older girl quickly stood up, holding her steady.

“Woah- be careful.”

The blonde girl weakly smiled, “thanks unnie…”

NingNing walked up, the two younger girls hugging each other.

Then Winter glanced to her right, vaguely seeing Giselle stare at her from the dimly lit room, the Japanese girl standing up slowly, hesitantly walking towards the younger girl as if she’d disappear if she went too fast.

“W-Winter?”

The said girl smiled, “hi, dumber.”

Winter took a few weak steps forward, her eyes widening a fraction when she noticed tears in the other girl’s eyes.

“Giselle…”

She held Giselle’s face in her hands, wiping away the coming streaks, “don’t cry… I’m here, I’m okay, I would never leave you… Any of you.”

“- Oh my God Minjeong I thought I lost you.”

The older girl tightly embraced Winter, holding her back and head firmly. Winter returned the hug, soothingly rubbing Giselle’s back in small circles.

After a good long hug, the best friends pulled away, the two spectators smiling at the scene.

“Now stop crying, I know I look uglier than you but you look uglier when you cry.”

“You dumb idiot, don’t scare me like that again.”

The two smiled at each other, Giselle wiping the leftover tears with her sleeve while Winter looked around the dark room.

“What happened to the power?”

“It just completely shut off a little before you fainted.”

“Oh… Anything else?”

NingNing shook her head, “nope… Are you sure you’re okay though?”

Winter nodded, “I feel fine, just really tired and sore.”

Karina glanced down to see that Winter’s legs were shaking, struggling to keep the girl up.

“Yeah, it looks like you’re going to fall soon.”

“I’ll carry Winter. I mean- Karina if you’re cool with that since like- we all know you can’t carry any of us.”

Karina tilted her head at Giselle, “why would I not be fine with it?”

“Well, you know, jealousy and the likes of me carrying your babe.”

The oldest girl blushed, holding her hand out for the flashlight as she looked away.

“Let’s just go, give me your flashlight.”

Giselle chuckled, slouching forward so Winter could get on her back with ease.

“Thanks, Giselle.”

The Japanese girl hummed in response, following NingNing and Karina out into the dark hallway as she piggybacked Winter.

The power turned back on midway, and the girls sighed in relief, feeling much safer in the light.

“Do you want to go to the hospital?”

Winter shook her head, “it’s fine… I’ll be fine… I don’t like hospitals anyways.”

The other three nodded, looking up as a man jogged towards them.

“Are you four alright?”

Karina nodded, “yes sir, we are.”

He gestured with his head to Winter, “what about her?”

Giselle chuckled, “she’s okay, she’s just tired.”

The worker nodded, leading the girls out to the front, “apologies for the sudden black-out, something went wrong with the generator but it seems to be up and running now.”

NingNing smiled, “it’s alright, thank you for leading us out.”

He nodded once more, “of course, have a good day.”

The four girls walked around the city, and after a few minutes of walking, they arrived in front of Winter’s house.

“Is your mom here?”

“Uhhhh probably…”

Karina went up to knock on the door as Giselle and NingNing helped Winter to her feet.

…

…

“Jimin?”

Karina smiled and bowed to the woman, “hello, Miss Kim.”

She glanced behind the girl to see Winter tiredly leaning against Giselle, “omo, Minjeong-ah are you okay?”

Winter smiled, giving her mom a thumbs up, “yeah, just tired eomma.”

Karina glanced at her mom, “may I stay with Minjeong for a few hours?”

“Why of course dear, you all can come in if you’d like.”

Giselle helped Winter lean her arm over Karina’s shoulders as she smiled at Miss Kim.

“That’d be nice, but no thank you ma’am. NingNing and I have to catch the bus home.”

Winter’s mom nodded, “get home safe girls.”

The two bowed, waving at Karina and Winter before walking away.

Miss Kim helped Karina walk Winter, who seemed to be getting tired with every step, a yawn cutting off what she was trying to say as they laid her down on her bed.

“Unnie you didn’t… you didn’t have to stay with me.”

Karina shrugged, “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

The mom left the two girls alone, waiting right outside the bedroom door as she heard her daughter and Karina’s soft voices.

“Thanks… Rina-unnie.”

The older girl chuckled, brushing a strand of blonde hair from her friend’s face, “sleep, you look exhausted.”

That triggered another yawn, “yeah I am…”

Karina began to hum a tune, and soon enough, the younger girl fell into a comfortable sleep…

Knock Knock…

Karina glanced over to the door where the soft knocks were produced, seeing Winter’s mom come inside and sit down on the chair next to Winter’s desk.

“She’s really tired…”

Miss Kim nodded, whispering back to the girl, “it seems that way…”

She then smiled at Karina, “thank you, Jimin, for being with my daughter… She doesn’t have a lot of people to care for her…”

“Of course, it’s the least I could do since she helped me so much…”

“Do you know about her older brother?”

Karina glanced over from Winter’s face to her mom, “yes, I’ve heard about him from her.”

The mom slowly nodded, “he was the only one who was there for Minjeong when I was at work, before Giselle came to Korea… Even when she met Giselle, she never really liked to bring friends over, but of course, her brother always came whenever he could since we were family.”

She stood up, walking over and gently rubbing Karina’s head, “you’ve brought back a side of Minjeong I haven’t seen for a very long time… I’m glad my daughter has met you.”

The girl softly blushed from the compliment, “thank you, Miss Kim.”

The older woman nodded, silently slipping out the door and closing it without a sound.

Karina sighed, staring at Winter as the younger girl breathed softly in and out, seeming to be so at peace.

‘I’m glad I met Winter as well…’

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